The EU is preparing to open talks with North Macedonia and Albania next week after France and the Netherlands got what they wanted.

The EU could blow up the Kosovo-Serbia negotiations' reset. Should Miroslav Lajčák indeed be appointed, the two senior EU diplomats dealing with Kosovo would both come from the small minority of member states that do not recognise Kosovo.

North Macedonia is heading for its "dirtiest ever" election, its prime minister has warned, as Europhiles prepare to take on nationalists.

The US has declined to rule out a land swap between Kosovo and Serbia - despite German opposition to the controversial idea.

Western Balkan secret services have handed over more the 250 alerts on suspected foreign terrorist fighters since last summer - fed into the EU's police database by the Czech Republic, according to a confidential document seen by EUobserver.

The Kosovan former ambassador to the EU, and previously EU integration minister for her country, warns that tweaks to the enlargement process could cause confusion and overlap with existing procedures.

Scotland's first minister Nicola Sturgeon said she would make sure Scotland stays as close to EU regulations as possible after Brexit, with the aim of rejoining the bloc, once Scotland is independent.

The European Commission just missed an opportunity on managing EU enlargement. Instead of taking a hard look at why it's currently failing, the commission tried to appease the most vocal opponent of enlargement – France – with largely cosmetic changes.

The EU Commission proposed tweaks in the accession process to overcome the French objection to opening accession talks with Nothern Macedonia and Albania by May.

"Brexit means Brexit" - but many Brits are still wondering what it means as their country left the European Union on Friday.

EU hopefuls will know more about the hoops they will have to jump through in future when the European Commission publishes its new "enlargement methodology" this week.

The EU can hardly criticise Eastern Partnership countries for disrespecting media freedom. Five EU member states, including current presidency Croatia, came below Armenia and Georgia in the 2019 RSF Press Freedom Index. Bulgaria ranked nine places behind Ukraine.

Letting Serb war crime suspects go free while pursuing Kosovar ones only is bad for Western Balkans reconciliation, Kosovo's outgoing prime minister, Ramush Haradinaj, has said.

The EU's eastern neighbourhood is in flux. The collapse of the pro-reform government in Moldova and the stagnation of anti-corruption reforms in Ukraine was recently followed yet by another political crisis in Georgia.